Overview
- A new PwC map using official records shows private registered payrolls grew just 1.6% from 2011 to 2025, with Neuquén adding about 60,000 jobs and accounting for 58% of the net gain driven by Vaca Muerta.
- INDEC’s income account, the series the government cites, counts “positions” per person rather than people employed, so one worker holding two jobs can lift the total without adding a new worker.
- By that count, 113,000 positions were added from Q4 2023 to Q4 2025, while registered salaried jobs fell by 241,000 and public posts by 25,000 and independents rose by 346,000 with unregistered work up by 33,000.
- Household survey data show unemployment reached 7.5% in Q4 2025 and the employment rate slipped, indicating weaker demand for labor despite more counted positions.
- Beyond Neuquén’s energy boom, Buenos Aires province gained about 44,000 formal private jobs over 14 years, the city of Buenos Aires lost about 41,000, and large cuts hit Santa Cruz, Formosa, San Luis and La Rioja.